Packages and Postmarks
by buffy1242
Summary: A phone call, a visitor or 2, that's all in a days work for Gibbs and his team. But there is something different about these visitors, and what is their connection to Ziva? Set around early/mid season 11, eventual Zibbs.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: For those who are following this story from my last Zibbs story (_A Life Changing Present_) then welcome back to my whacky and completely insane style of writing.  
****For those who are new to the story, welcome to the whacky worlds that I like to create.  
****I have been writing this story for a lot longer than I like to remember, but I wanted to finish my last Zibbs fic before posting this which was part of the reason why I spent about a week finishing it off.  
****As always I will be giving updates and spoilers on twitter (**buffy1242**) for any and all stories currently being written by me.  
****This story might be a little off at first, it hasn't been split up into chapters but is currently around 20,000 words and still growing. I do hope you all enjoy it though. :)**

The phone ringing on Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo's desk broke everyone out of their concentration on whatever task they were completing. It wasn't like they were in the middle of a big case and were waiting for information, and if a new case had come in then it wasn't DiNozzo's phone that would have been ringing it would have been his boss's Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs' phone that was ringing. When it had rung a few times a quiet but forceful growl was heard across the bullpen.

"Phone, DiNozzo."

The other members of Team Gibbs were unsurprised by this noise and as soon as Agent DiNozzo picked up the phone mid ring they went back to whatever work they were trying to complete before the interruption.

"Ahhh… Sure, send them up." Agent DiNozzo spoke into the phone with a confused look on his face and a curious glance at his boss as he hung up.

Special Agent Gibbs had noticed the look his senior field agent was giving him.

"Something important, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked in a tone that suggested if it wasn't life threatening he had better be getting back to work.

"That was Marcus from security," At Gibbs' blank look DiNozzo elaborated. "You know the guy that you terrified on his first week."

Gibbs' facial features finally showed understanding.

"He knocked over my coffee DiNozzo."

DiNozzo nodded in understanding.

"Well, it seems there are some visitors at the front gate who say it is really important that they talk to you and he was too scared to call you. He said one of them is about 6 years old and won't stop crying, couldn't say no boss." DiNozzo finished off carefully, not knowing exactly how his boss was going to handle this information.

Gibbs' gave DiNozzo a mild version of the Gibbs' glare for a moment and then nodded.

"They give you any names?" Gibbs asked carefully.

"Arielle and Natalia Chase. Marcus said he thinks they might be sisters, but they look nothing alike."

Gibbs' nodded at DiNozzo again and went back to finishing the little of what was left of his report, it had been almost complete before the interruption and if he finished quickly he could give his full attention to whatever these two visitors wanted.

Gibbs' was just saving his report on his computer and sending it McGee to deal with whatever else was supposed to be done too it on the computer when the elevator dinged and Marcus the security guard stepped out with two girls. The older one looked to be about 16 and the younger one only about five, the younger one was being carried by the older one and she was clinging to her like a life raft. If the older one had a problem with this she didn't show it and follows Marcus until he stopped in front of the teams desks and made a motion to Agent Gibbs' with his hand before walking away.

Gibbs' looked up as the girls came over to his desk and stood in front of it.

"Are you Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs?" The older one asked.

The younger girl was looking at him, obviously wanting an answer to this question too.

"Yes, I am. How can I help you?" Gibbs' asked in his most polite voice.

The older girl secured the younger girl in her arms better and then used a free hand to start digging in the messenger bag she was carrying that wasn't too noticeable at first.

"I'm Arielle and this is my little sister Natalia." Arielle told him, before looking back up at him after pulling a piece of paper from her bag. Her face had a look of triumph followed by a serious look. She handed him the paper. "We need your help."

Gibbs looked down at the paper and the shock that registered on his face was evident to the other team members watching. Gibbs looked between Arielle and the letter a couple of times, he hadn't read it he just recognised the handwriting. You didn't work with someone 8 years without being able to recognise their handwriting on sight.

"Boss?" Agent DiNozzo asked. He was asking if Gibbs was okay, if he needed anything or if he wanted them to leave all in one word.

Gibbs looked over at DiNozzo and shook his head slightly indicating that everything was fine, but everyone knew it wasn't.

Natalia had gone from being interested in Gibbs and what he was going to do to burying her head in her sister's shoulder, she was scared and confused and didn't like the way these people were looking at her and her sister. Arielle looked away from Gibbs at the movement from her sister, and immediately knew what was wrong. She used the hand that she had freed to grab the paper from her bag to rub Natalias back soothingly and then looked back at Gibbs.

"Can you tell them to stop staring at us like we are caged monkeys in a zoo? They're scaring my sister." Arielle asked Gibbs politely but there was an edge to her voice.

Gibbs looked between her and his 3 agents. DiNozzo and McGee were openly staring, trying to figure out what was going on while Bishop was at least pretending to do something else but it was obvious she was just as interested as the other two.

"Back to work." Gibbs barked at them while getting up from his desk. Shall we talk about this somewhere a little more privately?" He asked Arielle.

She nodded and then looked between him and her little sister. It was a small glance and would have been missed by most people but Agent Gibbs wasn't most people.

"How about I take you on a tour of our lab first, our forensic scientist Abby has all sorts of toys down there that you both will like." Gibbs told her.

From the grateful look Arielle shot at Gibbs as they started walking away he knew he had done just what she had wanted.

They stepped onto the elevator and Gibbs pushed the button to Abby's Lab. Just as the doors were closing they clearly heard DiNozzo exclaim.

"What the hell was that?"

Gibbs sent a small smirk to Arielle. "They're going to be wondering who you are until I tell them, that being said I am wondering just exactly who you are myself."

Arielle looked down and Natalia brought her head up and looked between the two of them.

"Is he going to help Ellie?" She asked in a small voice that could clearly be heard in the elevator.

Arielle went to answer but Gibbs beat her to it. "If I can, but I don't know the problem so I can't make any promised just yet."

It appeared to be the right thing to say as Natalia looked over to him and gave him a sweet smile. "Good." She said before leaning back into her sister again.

The music in Abby's Lab could be heard from the elevator but it wasn't so loud back there, but it was definitely going to be louder inside the lab. Gibbs strode faster ahead of them making sure that they were able to follow them at the same time as he could turn the music off before it could do any permanent damage to them.

Just as Arielle and Natalia stepped into the lab the music went quiet and instead all that was heard was a loud "GIBBS!" and then a few chuckles.

"Come here Abs." Gibbs called to her as he made his way back to the girls standing at the entrance of the lab. Abby had been in the back of her office and was obviously about to say something to him when she spotted the girls.

"Oh, Hi. I'm Abby." She said bouncing towards them.

"This is Natalia and I'm Arielle." Was the only information that was offered to Abby from the two girls themselves so Abby turned to Gibbs for more information.

"I need to talk to Arielle and Natalia is a little scared of this place, you have anything fun down here for her?"

Abby caught on to the hidden meaning in the message immediately.

"Sure, but nothing that can be taken away from the lab but I have many fun things here if Natalia wants to stay here."

It was posed as an option to Natalia to see how she would react, they were expecting her to cling tighter to Arielle and refuse to let go but she didn't.

Natalia looked up at Arielle. "Is it safe?" She asked her sister quietly.

Arielle nodded. "You remember how much security we had to go through to get here?"

Natalia nodded.

"You remember what the letter said?"

Natalia nodded again.

"Then I think it is safe here, what do you think?"

Natalia looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't want you to leave me alone here, even if it is safe."

Arielle looked up at Abby and Gibbs for a moment then back at Natalia.

"I have to talk to Agent Gibbs and it will be quicker and easier if we can do it alone, I have to show him parts of the letter that I wouldn't show you."

"You're trying to protect me again." Natalia looked annoyed at her sister.

"Yes." Arielle told her. Natalia looked indignant at being left out of the loop and Arielle was unhappy that her sister had figured out as much as she had.

Abby decided to interrupt before whatever was going on between them escalated.

"How about this, I have Gibbs phone number programed under speed dial number one. I will give you my phone Natalia on the promise that if it rings and it says anything else apart from Gibbs then you have to give it back to me to answer it and if you want your sister back or need to talk to her then you can call her and tell her to come back yourself. Deal?"

Natalia looked between Abby, Gibbs and Arielle. "Really?" She asked in a small voice.

"Really." Abby told her. "And we have paint and colouring stuff and toys and all sorts of things down here so time will fly, I'm sure."

Natalia let out a little laugh. "Do you have any books? I finished mine on the way over."

Abby laughed. "I don't know if I have anything suitable." Abby gave her a slightly apologetic look.

Arielle laughed and set Natalia on the ground on her own two feet and straightened up, Natalia still had an iron grip on her hand though.

"Natalia can read just about anything, I try to limit her exposure to murder mysteries and stuff like that but pretty much anything else is fair game. Show her your book case and she'll pick something out and she'll be happy for a little while." Arielle told Abby.

Abby smiled through the shocked look on her face and walked over to Natalia holding out her phone. Natalia looked between the phone and Arielle, and Arielle nodded to her indicating that she should take the phone. With one hand still gripping Arielle's hand she reached out with the other to grab the phone and held it close.

"Speed dial 1." Abby reminded her again. "Want to see the books now?"

Natalia nodded but wouldn't let go of Arielle's hand, Arielle sighed.

"I'll come with you to the bookcase but then I have to go. The sooner I leave the sooner I get back."

Natalia nodded and they all followed Abby.

Natalia let out a huge gasp as she saw Abby's bookcase filled with science books and the odd piece of fiction. It was obvious when she spotted a book that she wanted to read. Natalia let go of Arielle's hand and ran to the bookcase that took up most of the back wall. Right at Natalia's eye level was a biology book that was almost too big for Natalia to grab it with both hands.

"Ellie." Natalia called to Arielle as she struggled to pull the book out. Abby had started to help her but Arielle had shaken her head and silently told her that was a bad idea. "It's the book that we saw in the college book store when we were there the other week." Natalia finally got the book off the shelf and was having a little trouble carrying it but Arielle knew if she tried to help Natalia wouldn't have been happy.

Natalia looked up at Abby, forgetting Abby's phone that she had placed on the self-beside the other books as she was extracting her book. "Can I read this please?" She pleaded with Abby, who of course nodded. "Where?" Natalia asked again. Abby motioned over the futon that was down behind her desk and Natalia went over there happily sitting down and pulling her book to her. She was completely oblivious to what was going on around her.

Abby looked to Arielle for some answer but Arielle just smiled.

"Depending on how interesting that book is to her with depends on how long she takes to read it. If she finishes it before I get back try to convince her to pick another one, but she might not. She's really independent so don't bother trying to help her do anything, it won't end well for either of you. Oh and she left your cell phone on the bookcase, you might want to move that to your desk so she could hear it and see it if it rings but if you give it to her now she won't be happy." Arielle told Abby.

Then Arielle turned to Gibbs. "We should go now, quickly."

Gibbs nodded. "Be careful Abs." He tells Abby and walks out.

Arielle looks over at Abby for a final time. "She may disappear if she finishes the book, you might want to keep an eye on her." Arielle tells Abby before following Gibbs back to the elevator.

When they are in the elevator Arielle looks to Gibbs. "I feel bad for Abby, if Tali finishes her book Abby is not going to have a fun time."

"Abby'll be fine, she can handle anything."

Arielle looks at him. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." She tells him softly, then continues in a normal voice. "Where are we going?"

Gibbs turns to her. "We are going to the conference room where it is private and you can tell me who you are, how you got a note like that and what you need." Gibbs told her, not unkindly.

Arielle nods. "Just so you know, the letter came in a package and there is a letter in there for you as well as well as a few other things."

Gibbs stared at her for a moment, trying to decipher exactly what was going on but shook his head and decided to let it go for the moment. When the elevator stopped they both got out and Gibbs lead the way to the conference room, they could both feel the eyes of Gibbs' team following them as they walked along the walkway.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, second chapter! YAY!  
****I hope you are all enjoying this, and continue to do so while I write this amazing story.  
Thank you for reading. Love you all! :P Goodnight! :D**

* * *

Arielle sat down first and Gibbs took the seat opposite her at the conference table. Gibbs stared at her until she started talking.

"About a year ago my foster father died suddenly, well it was sudden to us but he was almost 90 so it wasn't entirely unexpected. I had been living with my foster parents since I was 6, I have been calling them Mom and Dad since I was 9. They were both fit and healthy and apart from their age were in perfect health, Mom was distraught when Dad died she could no longer take care of herself and eventually Natalia and I had to go back into the system to a group home because Mom had to go to an old age home. It's been almost 9 months since that happened. Natalia and I were able to stay together mostly, she refuses to go anywhere without me and that girl can throw a tantrum when she wants that most of the adults tend to leave us alone so long as I can keep her quiet. About 6 months ago I received a package in the mail containing a lot of things that I'm not too sure about, there were letters that were addressed to you and people that I am assuming are in your team or that you will hopefully know how to find instructions on how to find you if I ever need too and that note that you read. There was also what I can only assume as a treasure hunt of sorts that lead to keys to a safety deposit box that contains enough cash for me to live on for the rest of my life and some other things I am still not sure what they are, I think I own a couple of houses and that's just in the tri-state area. The letter I got in the package said that no one else but me and Natalia would ever be able to access the safety deposit box and anything else that came along with it unless I specifically wanted them to be able to, because of that I wasn't too worried about that stuff it just meant that I would be able to go to college and so would Natalia I figured I would sort through it properly when I was 18 and didn't have social workers looking over my shoulder. My foster parents encouraged our talents and told us that we could do/be/have whatever we wanted; they would always make it happen. My sister is really into science, as you may have noticed and I really like photography. I'm almost 17 so the group home pretty much lets me come and go as I like so long as I am always contactable and I usually take my sister with me. About a month ago I was going through some of my old photos and I noticed this guy popping up into my photos randomly over a weekend where Natalia went everywhere we could and still be home by curfew. We went to so many different places that it had to be more of a coincidence that he was in at least 1 photo from every location. I looked over some previous photos and more often than not I spotted him in a photo that I had taken, I thought it was weird and figured since he never approached me or my sister it wasn't a big deal. The last 3 weekends when I have taken my sister out I have looked for him but I never saw him, but he was still there in the photos. The photos I took last Sunday contained him in almost every one. I was more confused than worried until I noticed that in a lot of them he was taking photos of us. Agent Gibbs, I'm not too concerned about what happens to me. If this has something to do with me then whoever is supposed to handle it can handle it but I do care about what happens to my sister. She was removed from her home when she was a year old for abuse, she took Dad's death last year hard and losing Mom was even worse for her. Whatever happens I need her to be safe, being in a group home is killing her spirit. She's already started to stop fighting when things happen and I'm already worried that all this is going to cause too much damage to her until I turn 18 and can get her out but whatever this is, she doesn't know the specifics but she knows something is wrong. I just want to know what, I can deal with it after that."

Gibbs just stared at Arielle.

"Why did she send you a package containing those things?"

Arielle looked down at the table, then she picked up her bag and placed it on the table taking out an envelope with 'Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs' written on the front.

"There were instructions to only give this to you if I needed to ask for help, I have a feeling this contains the answer to that question. I don't like to talk about it, any of it." Arielle slid the letter across the conference table to him he pulled the paper that she had handed him earlier and lay it down next to the letter, the handwriting was the same it was unmistakable. It was also clear what the letter said.

_"Dear Arielle._

_There are many things of importance throughout this package but you must always keep this letter on you at all times. I suggest you make many photocopies and stash them in places you frequent; it will make it easier for people to find one if something happens to you._

_If anyone ever finds out about your connection to me you will be in a lot of trouble, it is one of the reasons I have never contacted you before even though I know you know most of the reasons why you and I have never met in person before._

_If something ever happens to you or to your sister Natalia you need to go to NCIS, it is in the Navy Yard and ask for a Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He will be able to help you with anything or he will find someone who can. You can trust him with your life and with Natalia's, I always did. Just show him this letter, he should recognise the handwriting._

_I hope one day to be in a position to meet you in person._

_I love you._

_Ziva David."_

Gibbs was staring softly at Arielle.

"She wrote all this by hand so that I would know it was real, right?" He asked quietly. It had been almost 5 months since Ziva had left NCIS, his team and him and seeing all this didn't exactly bring forth the happy memories.

"I think so." Arielle whispered quietly. "Her letter to me said a lot about you and your team, she said that you would do anything you could to help."

Gibbs was obviously processing all the information that Arielle was telling him.

"Do you have the photos of this guy on you?" Gibbs asked Arielle, needing to focus on something other than what Ziva's connection to this girl was.

"Yeah." Arielle told him while pulling a laptop out of her bag. "I sorted the ones that you can see his face clearest in into this folder, but he is in a lot of my other ones that I eventually gave up trying to spot him in all of them. Sometimes I am not too sure if it is him or someone else."

Gibbs nodded. "I'm going to need to give your computer to Abby so she can… deal with it. It's your computer so it will probably be easiest for Abby if you explain how you store your photos and order them, however after that you and Natalia are going to need to answer some questions and I am going to have to contact Social Services."

Arielle's head snapped up to look at Gibbs with a rather fierce expression. "What! Why?"

"Because you are both going into protective custody effective immediately and I have to inform them. I can't tell you who you will be with but it will be either us or the FBI, either way I'm about to have a rather loud fight with the director but you don't need to worry about that."

Arielle nodded. "I'm sorry if I get you in trouble." She told him sincerely.

Gibbs shrugged. "I'm always in trouble with him, but he generally likes Ziva so it might not be so bad."

Arielle nodded.

Gibbs got up and motioned for her to come too. "We'll take your computer to Abby, tell her what is going on and then you can grab Natalia and we shall go and have a meeting with the director, I just have to stop by and talk to my team for a minute first."

Arielle nodded and followed Gibbs out of the conference room and downstairs towards Team Gibbs.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs barked as soon as he rounded the corner to their desks.

"Yes boss." Agent DiNozzo looked towards his boss expectantly.

"Call Fornell, tell him…" Gibbs trailed off looking back at Arielle. "Tell him that he needs to get over here right now."

DiNozzo nodded, "and when he asks why boss?"

"Because I said so." Gibbs barked at DiNozzo as he lead Arielle away from all the members of the team looking at her and Gibbs weirdly.

Abby meet Gibbs and Arielle at the door of her lab as soon as she heard the elevator ding.

"She's barely moved." Abby told them, not sure who this information was relevant too Gibbs or Arielle. "If she didn't flick the pages I would be wondering if she was breathing."

Arielle laughed. "That happens a lot. Mom thought it was hilarious."

Gibbs looked at Arielle. "Will she notice you are back, or will you have to get her attention."

Arielle shrugged and looked over at Natalia sitting quietly behind Abby's desk. "She has only turned a few pages over in the book, I think it is safe to say that book should keep her sufficiently occupied for a while."

"Good." Gibbs told her, then motioned to Abby. "Hand over your computer."

Arielle snorted while going into her bag. "Would it kill you to say please?" She glared at Gibbs while handing Abby her laptop.

"Yes." Gibbs told her while Abby looked at the laptop.

"Umm, thanks." Abby told her, confused. "Why do I have this."

"I need you to run a facial recognition on someone, Arielle will show you the photo and person but I need this as fast as possible."

"Sure Gibbs."

Abby and Arielle were off talking about what was going on and what they had to do, Gibbs could hear them in the background talking about where this photo was and anything else that Abby deemed important to know. Gibbs was contemplating pulling Ziva's letter out and reading it but Abby spoke up. "It's started, there were some good shots of this guy so it shouldn't be too hard to find him. Might take a while though."

Gibbs nodded. "As soon as possible, just do your best." Gibbs told her softly.

Abby gave him a huge smile, sometimes it was worth it to be the favourite.

Gibbs turned to Arielle. "I think it would be better for her to come with us to the director." Gibbs told her motioning to Natalia.

Arielle nodded and walked over to Natalia.

Arielle kneeled in front of Natalia and slowly ran her hand up and down Natalia's arms to carefully get her attention. Natalia looked up at Arielle and smiled.

"Your back." Natalia told her big sister. "And this book is amazing, can we go back and buy it from the bookshop sometime?"

Arielle smiled. "Sure, once everything is sorted out here."

Natalia smiled at her sister and stood up slowly putting her arms out to her sister. Arielle complied at once and picked Natalia up. It was obvious to both Abby and Gibbs that being in Arielle's arms or at least touching her was where Natalia felt safest.

Abby walked over to them and grabbed the book Natalia was reading.

"You really know how to read this and you really like it." Abby asked her gently.

Natalia smiled and nodded to Abby.

"Then you can have this." Abby told her.

Natalia's eyes widened. "Really?" She asked carefully, much like when Abby had offered Natalia her cell phone so that she would feel safe without her sister nearby.

"Of course." Holding the book out to Natalia. Natalia reached out to grab it but it was too heavy for to hold with just one hand. Arielle grabbed the book instead. "I'll put in my bag, okay?" Natalia nodded at her sister smiling.

"Thank you." Arielle told Abby sincerely. She was glad her sister was smiling a full smile, like she used to do before her Dad died.

Abby gave Arielle a huge grin and they walked over to Gibbs together.

"Let's go." Gibbs told Arielle and Natalia and they walked back out to the elevator. Gibbs had just pushed the button for the elevator when he heard Abby call out.

"Gibbs!"

Gibbs turned around and the girls followed him back into Abby's lab.

"What is it, Abs?"

"I got a match." Abby told him, still staring at her screen.

"Really? I thought you said it might take a while." Gibbs asked her. He just had to be sure.

"Really. Our facial recognition software automatically runs through AFIS first, and it got a hit. Meet Petty Officer Frank Holland." Abby told them.

Gibbs was going to say something but Natalia said something that made him stop.

"Why were you looking up a photo of Frank?" Natalia asked Abby and Gibbs.

Gibbs turned to look at the girls and found Arielle staring at Natalia.

"Tali?" Arielle asked quietly. "Do you know him?"

Natalia nods. "Before I went to live with Mom and Dad, he would come over to my house. He used to always read me bedtime stories."

Arielle's eyes went wide, and her face pale as Gibbs and Abby were looking between the girls wondering what was going on.

Next thing Gibbs and Abby knew Natalia was being shoved towards Gibbs and Arielle dropped her bag running out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs looked at the little girl he was now holding and then to the door to see her sister disappear. Gibbs put her on the ground and followed Arielle. He faintly heard Natalia speak as he left.

"At least she left my book this time." Natalia said while going into her sisters bag and sitting back down with her book. She was interrupted slightly before she was able to open it.

"What was that about Natalia?" Abby asked gently.

Natalia shrugged. "Ellie doesn't like it when I talk about where I lived before Mom and Dad. I don't really remember much about it but Ellie hates talking about it."

Abby looked at the girl and gave a carry on gesture to Natalia about her book before going back to her computer to get everything she could find on Frank Holland. She wasn't sure who this guy was but she was sure that it was important to Gibbs.

Gibbs found Arielle quickly, mostly because she had only gone far enough from the lab so that Natalia wouldn't be able to find her quickly or easily.

Arielle was sitting with her back against the wall, her hugging knees up to her chest and crying. Gibbs sat down next to her.

"You want to tell me what that was about?" Gibbs asked her gently.

"She was 2 when she came to live with us. She was bruised everywhere, both arms and legs were broken and it took months before she would even look at me and my parents. Eventually we figured out that she managed to repress most of the memories she had from her time with her biological parents, but we could never figure out why she was so thankful that we didn't read her bedtime stories like her other family did. Eventually we did, they would read her a story and make her feel comfortable before molesting her. She doesn't remember thankfully, but I remember the aftermath. If that guy used to read her bedtime stories then he is after her."

Arielle broke down completely after she finished. Gibbs put his arms around her shoulders and waited for her to push him off, when she didn't he pulled her towards him and she turned and cried into his shoulder. Eventually she stopped crying and pulled away from Gibbs.

"Thank you." She told him, while Gibbs just gave her a small smile.

"We'll figure this out." Gibbs told her. "If anything good came out of this, it means that this is officially an NCIS case and we don't have to deal with the FBI."

Arielle let out a small laugh just as Gibbs' phone went off.

Gibbs looked down at the caller ID and let out a small chuckle.

"Speaking of." He told Arielle while answering his phone.

"Gibbs." He said, even though he knew it was Fornell on the line.

"Why am I coming to NCIS Jethro?"

Gibbs let out a small laugh while standing up and walking back to Abby's lab with Arielle. "You don't have to anymore, thought I had a case that was going to be yours but turns out it isn't yours it's mine."

Gibbs could almost hear the wheels turning in Fornell's head. "You called to give me a heads up."

"It came from Ziva. She trusted me to help and it wasn't going to help if you and I had a turf war."

"Fair enough."

Gibbs gave Arielle a little smirk.

"Do me a favour and call DiNozzo back and tell him you aren't coming. I love it when he thinks he is going to tell me news he knows I don't want to hear."

"Of course."

Fornell and Gibbs both hung up without saying goodbye and Gibbs walked back into Abby's lab with Arielle.

Abby spotted them immediately and nodded towards Natalia sitting on the floor reading the book Abby had given her again.

Gibbs walked over to Abby while Arielle went to reassure her sister that nothing was too wrong.

Both Abby and Gibbs let the sisters have their moment as they talked about Frank Holland.

Gibbs left Abby's lab with Arielle in tow who was carrying Natalia.

Gibbs walked them over to the director's office and stopped in front of his secretary.

"He in?" Gibbs asked, knowing that this meeting was going to be stressful enough for the 2 kids behind him that he didn't need to start it with Leon reprimanding him for bad manners.

The shocked secretary just nodded and Gibbs knocked on the door and only went in when he heard Leon call out.

When Director Leon Vance saw who had walked in he wasn't sure what had shocked him more, that he had knocked before entering and waited for an answer or that he had 2 kids following him both of whom looked apprehensive and ever so slightly terrified.

"Agent Gibbs." Vance's voice started to squeak from surprise.

"Director Vance." Gibbs replied. "We have a situation."

Vance rolled his eyes so thoroughly that you could almost hear it.

"What happened?"

"This is Arielle and her little sister Natalia. They came here to ask me for help because they received this." Gibbs presented Vance with the letter that Arielle had given him.

Vance went from annoyed to complete shock as he read the letter, then he looked at Arielle.

"How old are you?" He asked quietly.

Gibbs looked confused but Arielle answered anyway. "I'm almost 17."

Vance was staring at Arielle openly gaping.

"You're her aren't you?"

Both Gibbs and Arielle let out a small huh, wondering what Vance was referring to.

"I never believed him when he told me, but it must be true if Ziva sent you this letter."

"Never believed who Leon?" Gibbs questioned firmly.

"Eli. He always said there were secrets, but I never believed the one he told me about Ziva was true."

"What secret Leon?"

Vance looked at Arielle again and noticed the look in her eyes. It confirmed that Arielle knew what he was talking about but Gibbs did not, but also that he would know soon.

"The information is in the letter I gave you." Arielle told Gibbs. "If it isn't then I will tell you myself, but I would bet money on it being in that letter."

Gibbs relaxed a little until he remembered why he was having this meeting.

"As I was saying Leon, Arielle and Natalia here are being stalked by a Petty Officer and have been for at least 6 months. They will be in my protective custody until this is all sorted out, and we also have to call Social Services."

Leon bulked a little at how long this had been going on, but otherwise didn't comment.

"I trust this will be handled as soon as possible." Vance told Gibbs, giving him permission to deal with the problem before it became a huge problem for NCIS.

Gibbs nodded and walked out of the room closely followed by Arielle and Natalia.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a little while, real life has been crazy and all that. I have a couple more chapters of this pre-written, and then I am going to have to work on some new chapters. Not too sure how long this is going to be, but I have a feeling it may end up about the same length as my last NCIS story.  
*****Insert standard plug about following me on twitter (**buffy1242**) here*  
****I hope you are all enjoying this story. Thank you for the wonderful follows, faves and reviews. I think I have the most wonderful readers imaginable. :P Love you all! **

* * *

It took Gibbs the rest of the day to sort out everything that needed to be sorted out in terms of him looking after the girls for the time being. Getting hold of their social worker was almost impossible, and it eventually took DiNozzo and McGee playing phone tag with him for over an hour for him to actually get through. Their social worker, a middle aged woman who was obviously interested in doing as little work as possible was unhappy that these kids were not following the rules and guidelines that they should be and was even more unhappy that they had gone to the police without informing her first. She couldn't care less, however that they might actually be in danger. While all this was happening Natalia was reading with Abby in her lab. Every now and then Natalia would look up from her book and ask Abby a question, once Abby got over the fact that the questions were more 'When will be old enough to help in a brain mapping project?' opposed to 'What is brain mapping?' Abby was happy to answer any and all questions that Natalia had and even helped her to learn how to research the questions herself, which helped everyone else involved including Arielle and Gibbs as they were able to go over everything and plan a way to make life safe for Arielle and Natalia again. It wasn't until Gibbs got back to his home that night with Arielle and Natalia in tow that he had a chance to even talk to Arielle what the letter from Ziva was all about, let alone look at his own one.

Gibbs took Natalia and Arielle home early that evening, well early for him, on time for everyone else. It as just past 5pm when he crossed the threshold to his house with Arielle trailing behind him carrying a sleepy Natalia. It seemed that for all her intelligence, her body still recognised that she was a 5 year old. Gibbs had picked up some pizza on their way home and Arielle made sure Natalia ate some before taking her upstairs and putting her to sleep in Gibbs' bedroom. It was the only room in the house that was fit for sleeping and Gibbs would be sleeping downstairs anyway. When Arielle came back downstairs she saw Gibbs staring at the unopened letter from Ziva, it was obvious that he was having trouble deciding if he should open it or not. Would opening it help him, or make him miss her more. All this was playing out very obviously on Gibbs' face and Arielle decided to help him out a little.

"Opening that isn't going to kill you, you know." She told him quietly, sitting down next to him.

Gibbs looked up at her in surprise.

"Will opening this help the case, or make it so I have more things to worry about?"

Arielle looked pensive for a moment.

"Honestly, I don't know. I think I know most of what is in that letter, but I really don't know everything that is in there. I only know that there will be some answers for you for questions that you have probably had for a few years, but I don't know exactly what they'll be."

Gibbs looked at her for a moment, drew in a deep breath and broke the seal of the envelope. With a house as quiet as his, the tearing of the paper was heard loudly by both people downstairs. When Gibbs drew the letter out it was noticeable that it had been written some time ago, and it was definitely in Ziva's handwriting.

_To Leroy Jethro Gibbs,_

_You are by far the greatest man that I have ever known. You protected me when you had no reason to, you trusted me when you probably shouldn't have and saved me more times that I care to count. It is for those reasons and many more that I feel I can trust you with the one secret that I told myself I would never share with anybody who either didn't already know or wasn't directly involved. You are the first person I have even intended to tell that doesn't not absolutely need to know, and by the time you ever read this, if you ever read this I really hope that statement is still true although depending on the reason you might be reading this then it may not be. Just note, that I did not keep this a secret from you, Tony, McGee, Abby or Ducky because I was ashamed or any reason as trivial as that, I kept it because not only does Arielle's life depend on it, and mine for that matter, but because anyone who knows the truth is in more danger than I care to think about, let alone admit out loud._

_This whole thing comes back to Arielle, it always has and probably always will even if one of us dies. Arielle is my daughter. I was 15 when she was born, living in the USA as I had finally worked up the courage to run away from my father and his ways. Ari was chasing me to bring me home, Tali was beside herself that I would disobey my father like that and my mother had died only a year before. I was living on a ranch in Montana with a family who were happy to provide room and board in exchange for housework and farm work and I was happy for the first time in my life. My little sister wasn't taking all the attention from my father, and my brother was trying to get me to practise all his techniques that he had learnt in military training. I met a guy there, needless to say you can guess what happened. I left just before it became noticeable and gave birth in Seattle in a hospital. I knew my brother was getting close to finding me by that point as I had been less than careful while I had been pregnant and I knew there was no way I would escape him, especially if I had a baby to look after as well. So regretfully, as much as I wanted to keep my baby, I couldn't. I found her a wonderful family and let her go to a place where she would be safe and loved and cared for. I kept tabs on her whenever possible and I knew when her parents died in a car accident and when she let to live with her new parents. She was still in a safe environment. I looked into her little sisters background when she came into the picture and I know that there are things in her background that would scare anyone for life, let alone a 1 year old. My personal opinion is that if they are ever in enough trouble to come to you, then it will most likely be over something to do with that. I have a case file of all that I collected about her life before she went to live with that family, it currently resides with Abby in a secret place and I made her promise never to open it, only to give it to you if you told her the password. If you go to Abby and tell her that I told you to ask for 'The Adventures of the Octopus and Orangutan' she will give it to you._

_Please protect my daughter Gibbs, and her little sister. I don't think they'd survive without the other one. They come as a pair, and they are both very protective of each other. If I had ever been in a position to do so then I would have adopted them both myself should the need have arisen, but being in Mossad and then working at NCIS made this simply an impossibility._

_I miss you everyday Gibbs, and hopefully one day I will make it back to you even if it is just the once. I would also really like to meet my daughter at some point. _

_Love Ziva David._

Gibbs was in shock as the letter ended. He looked up at Arielle and then over at the letter a few times, trying to place everything that he had ever heard about Ziva and trying to fit this new information in with it. He just couldn't.

"Quite a shock, huh?" Arielle asked him, breaking him out of his stupor.

"Yes." Gibbs answered. He was just staring at Arielle now. "You know, you do look a lot like her, now that she's told me I can see it. I couldn't before though."

Arielle laughed at him. "Yeah, I know. I've seen a few pictures of her, when they see them side by side of us people say that all the time."

"Do you know who your father is?" Gibbs asked.

Arielle smiled. " I know his name, but as I'm sure Ziva mentioned in that letter he doesn't know anything about me so I'm not in any hurry to try and find him. Besides he probably has 2.5 kids in the suburbs with his beautiful wife or something equally as cheesy."

Gibbs smiled. Then he got serious quickly.

"What is going to happen to you and Natalia when this is over. Your social worker was not happy with you, she won't make life easy for you." Gibbs told Arielle.

Arielle looked thoughtful. "I don't know. She hasn't really had anything to do with us while we have been in her care, but I get the feeling that she will be making a point to annoy us as much as possible. I don't know how we will handle that, because for some reason I think that she will try to get Natalia placed as soon as she possibly can because she will know that I will want her when I turn 18 in less that 8 months. That's long enough for Natalia to get adopted and me to to never see her again. What am I going to do?"

Gibbs was horrified, not only because Arielle was thinking about all that, but also because she was probably right.

"Can you take us?"

If Gibbs hadn't been sitting so close to Arielle he probably wouldn't have even heard what she said.

Gibbs look horrified. It wasn't that he didn't want to, on the contrary he wanted to desperately not only for these girls who so badly needed someone to look out for them but for Ziva who deserved to know that her daughter was safe and loved and cared for like she had always wanted.

"I wish I could." Gibbs told her truthfully. "My job is horrifying, and I often have to leave the country at a moments notice. I also have people who come after me purely because I have put their family member or loved one in prison, it is not a safe environment to include anyone in who didn't sign up for it in the first place. I work horrible hours, mostly because I find it better than being alone here, but there is also an element of the fact that some of those long hours are because I don't have a choice. I honestly hope that no social worker would ever approve me to be a long term foster parent because as much as I would love to do it it would not be a fair environment to put children in."

Arielle looked heartbroken and it was all Gibbs could do to not give in to her request right then and there. He reached out and put his arm around Arielle as she broke down and cried into his shoulder. After a while she finished crying and just sat leaning against Gibbs.

"I just want Natalia to be happy and safe, like I was for my childhood. If she gets sent away to some stranger it won't be too bad for me because at least I will age out soon but she is only 5, she has another 13 years of torture ahead of her. I just want her to have what I had." Arielle whispers quietly.

Gibbs sighs, wrapping his arm tighter around Arielle trying to offer her the only comfort that he can.

"I'll see what I can do about finding a nice family for both you and Natalia, but I don't know what I'll be able to do." Gibbs tells her, once again not promising anything but telling her that he will do his best.

He felt Arielle smile again him.

"Can you tell me about her?" Arielle asks. At Gibbs' confused look she clarifies. "My biological Mom."

Gibbs smiles at her.

"I can tell you a lot about her, but probably not the kind of things you would want to know." He tells her gently.

"I don't really know anything about her except that she has been watching over me my whole life and she left me a giant nest egg."

Gibbs smiled. "That's Ziva for you, she has plans for everything. I met her because she was the handler for a man who was terrorising my team. It turned out that he was her brother. He was eventually killed when it became apparent to everyone, including her that he was a terrorist. She worked for my team, she and Tony fought on a daily basis, she was good friends with Abby and Ducky and she did everything she could to help McGee when Tony was annoying him."

Arielle looked at him. "And what was she to you?"

Gibbs smiled. "She was a member of my team, I told you that already."

Arielle laughed. "Yeah, and you're leaving out a lot of information by just saying that. Also, I can read you like a book so you may as well come out and say it."

"I don't know what your talking about." Gibbs smirked at her.

"Yeah, you do. You get this little twinkle in your eye when you think about her, it isn't really noticeable but I have spent the last couple of months reading peoples emotions in a group home so I am fairly good at reading people."

Gibbs groaned. "You are exactly like your mother."

"Thank you." Arielle smiled at him. "So, what is your relationship with my mother?"

Gibbs sighed. "I respect her immensely. Other than that, I really can't answer that question for you."

Arielle smirked. "You can, you just don't want to say it out loud. But don't worry I'll get you to admit it one day."

Arielle leaned up and gave Gibbs a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thank you for believing us and saving us." Arielle told him sincerely before she headed upstairs to go join her sister in a sweet slumber.

Gibbs watched her as she walked away from him up the stairs.

"Ziva." He exclaimed quietly to the empty room. "Only your daughter would make my life more complicated and more complete in only 12 hours."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: As the story that I have the most pre-written chapters on I feel like this should at least be getting regular updates, but alas it isn't. I'm really sorry about that. I have taken an extract from an author's note on another story I'm writing to explain a little about why I'm so absent at the moment.**

**"********I am sorry to everyone who is reading this, but I will do my best to have some more updates after that and hopefully have it finished soon. I have what feels like 10 million different things that I'm working on online, including my blog and stuff for my writing and then another blog and project for a company that I've just started (you see why I'm not writing much at the moment) and then another project to run parallel with the company I've just started. Let's aim for christmas, shall we? Might even hit that deadline..."**

******I know that doesn't make up for not getting updates as frequently as you should, but its the best I can do. Also note that I am not talking about finishing this story (especially as it has only just started) but another one.**

I hope to get a few more chapters out to you soon in a more timely manner. XOXO Buffy

The next morning it took Gibbs a little while to get Arielle and Natalia out of the house. Arielle, who was in an environment that she considered safe for the first time in months took her time getting ready and leaving Natalia in the care of Gibbs who was more than happy to spend time with the 5 year old and try and make her laugh. While Gibbs was slightly annoyed at having to wait so long for Arielle, he couldn't help but let his annoyance slip when Arielle came downstairs to the pancakes that he and Natalia had made, the look of pure joy the moment she saw them and the happy look on her face for being able to take her time for once made him a little happier. He might not be able to provide a permanent safe place for Ziva's daughter but at least he could make her happy while she was with him.

The three of them arrived at the Navy Yard a lot later than Gibbs would normally have arrived. If it hadn't been obvious from the time, it would have been from all the people looking at him wondering why he was coming in so late. Personally, he thought that people should have realised the answer themselves when they saw Arielle and Natalia.

Up in the bullpen, Gibbs motioned both girls behind his desk.

"I have a few things to do with Abby that neither of you can be a part of, can you stay here for a little while. I shouldn't be too long."

Arielle looked at Natalia, who nodded while trying to get another one of Abby's books out of her sisters bag that was just a little too heavy for her.

"Of course." Arielle answered for them.

Gibbs looked over at McGee who had probably been there for a while at least.

"Make sure you know where they are and that they stay in the building." Gibbs informed McGee.

At McGee's nod Gibbs took off to the elevator down to Abby's lab.

When Gibbs entered Abby's lab it was obvious that Abby was still setting up for the day, her music wasn't even on. Gibbs sighed in relief and walked over to her office.

"I need something from you, Abs." Gibbs told her.

"And what would that be?" Abby asked, not taking her eyes off whatever she was doing on that computer screen.

"I got a letter from Ziva. I was told to ask for The Adventures of the Octopus and Orangutan."

The change in Abby's demeanor was immediate.

"Really?" She asked, but Gibbs couldn't tell if it was a hopeful question or a sad one.

"Really Abs. I need to see it. Apparently it is the case file from whatever happened to Natalia."

Abby looked at him. That was when Gibbs realised that something was wrong.

"I can give it to you Gibbs, but there is a password on it that Ziva said only you'd know when the time came that you asked for it."

Gibbs looked at Abby for a moment trying to process what was happening.

"How do you put a password on a paper file?" Gibbs asked Abby. He was really starting to get annoyed at Ziva's methods.

Abby laughed. "It's not paper, she gave it me on an encrypted iPad. Told me that I could try and crack it if I wanted to, but i'd never figure it out. I spent a few months on it then gave up when I managed to get into what all the security features are. There is a fingerprint that I am guessing is keyed to your fingerprint, and a password 14 digits long."

Gibbs watched Abby get the iPad out of her draw and give it to him. 14 characters was a pretty specific password, but Gibbs had an idea of what it might be. She had given him a clue in her letter after all. Gibbs looked down at it and then back up to Abby.

"Am I required to know how to use it as well?" Gibbs asked, hoping she said no. He was quite happy in his technophobe ways.

Abby laughed. "No Gibbs, you don't have to know how to use it. Here."

Abby took the offending object from Gibbs and pressed a button at the bottom and it instantly lit up. "I keep it charged up all the time, incase you ever ask for it." She told him.

Abby then turned the screen towards him, so that Gibbs could see a box where he had to press his finger in to unlock the iPad.

Gibbs just glared at it, so Abby reached out and grabbed his hand pressing his finger onto the screen. The screen opened revealing a keypad and boxes that were required to have characters put in them.

Abby handed the iPad to Gibbs with the parting wisdom "It's touch screen, Gibbs."

Gibbs glared at it again, but then put in the first 14 character password that came to mind. '_ariellenatalia'_. Immediatly the screen opened again, much to the job of Abby.

"You did it Gibbs." She told him.

"That's great." Gibbs told her monotonously. "but how do I access the files about Natalia that I need to see."

Abby sighed, grabbed the iPad and took it over to her workstation where she plugged it in and brought up the files instantly.

There on the big screen in front of him was a picture of 1 year old Natalia who had very obviously been beaten to within an inch of her life. According to the report, her parents had let that happen while they had been doing something else in another part of the house, drugs probably but the report didn't specify.

The child rape kit that had been done on her showed 6 different types of DNA, though when it had been run through the system only one had matched. Her fathers. That also didn't account for the multiple DNA that from under her fingernails. There was more than six there. Even at 1, she had been a fisty kid.

"Oh my god, Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed as she read the report.

"Yep." Gibbs commented. He was holding in his emotions tight right now, or else he was going to punch something and he wasn't sure Abby would be too happy if he broke one of her precious computers.

"Hey Abs?" Gibbs asked. "Any chance you can get hold of that DNA? 4 years is long enough for a few of them to maybe have popped up into the system. Besides the police wouldn't have had access to AFIS back then either. It could help with a few things."

Abby looked thoughtful. "I don't know, Gibbs. I can have a look and make some enquiries but I really don't know what I'll find."

"Do your best Abs, you always do." He replied giving her a quick hug and a kiss on her head.

It was obvious to Abby that he was slightly conflicted though.

"You always do your best to Gibbs." Abby told him, not letting him go as quickly as he would have liked. "And this time, you'll do better than your best. For Ziva."

Gibbs stiffened. "Don't know if I can this time Abs. Better than my best would be to take them in permanently. I couldn't do that to them, I often have people after me, I'm never there, and I work horrible hours. It wouldn't be fair to them."

"Yes you can Gibbs." Abby admonished him. "They are having a horrible time in foster care at the moment, you can rescue them from that even if it is only long enough for Arielle to turn 18 and take Natalia which is what they want anyway. We would all help you, those kids are special to Ziva therefore they are special to us. You should do it Gibbs. Give them a good life."

Gibbs looked terrified. "Abby." He ground out painfully.

"You're scared Gibbs." Abby told him, hugging herself tightly to him. "And after everything that happened to you with Shannon and Kelly, I don't blame you but those kids need you. If you can't do it for them, do it for Ziva. The woman you love and who loves you back."

"I don't know what you're talking about Abby." I told her warningly.

"Oh Gibbs." Abby was not happy with me. "We all know that you love her, and that she loves you. Everyone could see it. There was a rumor after she left that she left because you and her had broken up and the real reason was just your cover story. Take those kids for Ziva, Gibbs. Because otherwise I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at you the same way."

Gibbs sighed. "Fine, I'll go talk to Leon. See what he can do."

"Thank you, Gibbs." Abby reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Gibbs laughed and walked out of her lab. That girl sure could convince you to do anything.

* * *

Gibbs made his way up to Leon Vance's office, with a small detour to check on Arielle and Natalia to make sure they were okay. Arielle had definitely inherited Ziva's sense of knowing when something was wrong, she gave Gibbs a questioning look when she saw him but Gibbs just shook his head and mouthed later to her. He didn't want to get her hopes up when there was a possibility that it wouldn't happen.

Gibbs knocked on Leon's door when he arrived and received admittance from him.

"Gibbs." Leon looked a little surprised when he saw Gibbs. "What can I do for you now?"

"You obviously know that Arielle is Ziva's daughter?" Gibbs asked Leon.

Leon looked confused and Gibbs noted internally that he wasn't sure how he was going to bring this up with Leon, or what Leon could do.

"Yes." Leon told him.

Gibbs looked relieved for a moment, before realising that he was going to have to continue one way or another.

"Ziva did her research on both those girls, Leon." Gibbs said. "She left me some information in a letter with Arielle and some files password protected with Abby. She left me the file on what happened to Natalia and why she was put in care. It's bad, Leon. Really bad."

Leon looked horrified for a moment.

"What are you going to do then?" Leon asked.

"I don't know. I've got Abby going through everything that happened to Natalia. Maybe she'll be able to get some answers because no one else seemed to be able to. But I have bigger problems at the moment, even if they are slightly connected."

"How much am I going to hate this?" Leon asked Gibbs warningly.

"Hopefully not too much." Gibbs told him in a straightforward manner. "I was talking to Arielle last night. She confirmed what I had thought about their social worker, when those girls get out of protective custody then it is highly likely that Natalia will be taken away from Arielle. That can't happen, that little girl has already been through hell she doesn't need to be ripped away from the one person that she has always known."

"What do you want me to do about it, Gibbs?" Leon asked hesitantly.

"Any chance I can get custody of both girls? At least long enough for Arielle to turn 18 and get custody of Natalia on her own. They need to stick together, and I know my job doesn't make the situation ideal but its the best that I can offer Ziva's daughter."

Leon breathed a sigh of relief. "That's all you need?"

Gibbs nodded.

"That I can take care of, for Ziva and for her daughter."

"Thank you Leon." Gibbs told Leon as he walked out of his office and on his way to have a conversation with Arielle.


End file.
